Mt Maroon

July 23, 2017

A sunrise on Mt Maroon in Queensland’s Scenic Rim has become an Instagram sensation lately. So of course we had to jump on the band wagon and experience it for ourselves.

Like most hikes, we done a little research on the track and after reading a few mixed reviews we were not feeling as confident to take on the mountain during the dark. You cannot always rely on what you read on the internet though – unless it is on www.saltysummits.com.au 😉

Kicking the unconfident feelings in the butt, we set our alarms for a 4am wake up. It was like the night before Christmas. We knew what we were in for but we had no idea what to expect.

From the trailhead at the end of Costswold Road, we followed the foot padding that passes through an open hill alongside a dam and it was not long before we were delayering and our hearts pumping. The trail is steep, very rocky with a close to vertical scramble up a gorge.

Although the trail is relatively obvious in some sections and there are orange trail markers along the way, reasonable navigational skills should be considered, especially if you are planning for a sunrise summit.

Because we were racing against the clock, Ben and I veered off track a few times particularly where the trail ends and the rock hopping over boulders begins so, allow plenty of time! We won the race and reached the summit with plenty of time to spare. However, we were questioning ourselves was this a good thing or bad?

Not only was the air cold when we reached the summit’s rocky outcrop, the wind was absolutely howling making the temperature unbearable. We were not expecting the winds to be so horrendous therefore, were not prepared in terms of keeping super warm! Trying to find shelter behind rocks was nearing impossible and we actually considered skipping the sunrise. But, we were not going to let Mother Earth beat us this time because we knew she was about to put on one hell of a show!

Mt Maroon is said to be the best 360-degree view in South-East Queensland but, we think that it takes the cake for the best sunrise too! The pink and orange hues illuminating each crevice of the surrounding landscape was beyond mesmerising. Watching the Mt Barney massif and the surrounding rolling hills awake in the soft morning light was totally worth the complete numbing of the body.